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Q:When Does a 32kg Luggage Allowance Mean Only 12kg? A:When It's With Easyjet

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Easyjet bag drop, Luton Airport, May Day weekend.....

Hand luggage only plus ski bag.
£37 carriage paid for ski bag.
Bag (including x2 pairs of skis and bits of clobber) weight 20kg.

Easyjet's website says: "Sporting Equipment - Payment of the additional fee increases your checked in hold baggage allowance (including additional item) to a max weight of 32kg."

Despite this unambiguous and clear statement, easyjet staff at the bag drop claimed that (even when travelling with hand luggage only) the maximum permissable weight for sporting equipment is 12kg - on the basis that this is the balance of the 20kg permitted for other checked in luggage (ie 20kg for a normal bag plus 12kg for sporting equipment).

In this case, for passengers travelling with hand luggage only plus sporting equipment:
a. An assumption is made that a non-existent bag(!!) weighing 20kg has also been checked in.
b. Although sporting equipment costs almost twice as much to check in as a normal bag (£37 vs £20) it can only weigh just under half as much (12kg vs 20kg).
c. Something like a mountain bike in a padded bike bag (20kg plus) cannot be taken without paying to check in another bag, or paying for excess baggage.

Surely a nonsensical and utterly ridiculous interpretation of the wording regarding baggage allowances?

Even after showing the check in staff the wording from the website they wouldn't budge - but we did manage to resolve the situation satisfactorily after speaking to a supervisor on the easyjet desk. Despite this, when returning the ski bag to the bag drop, the check in staff still refused to acknowledge that they were wrong - and in fact snottily told us we'd got away with it this time but not to do it again.

We have previously travelled on scores of easyjet flights with hand luggage only plus sporting equipment and have never encountered this problem before. I have e-mailed customer services and will post an update if and when a response is received.
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mountainaddict, Have to agree with easyJets interpretation. It might well be a nonsensical rule, but IMHO the interpretation is correct.
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Sounds a bit like you were trying to pull a fast one by passing a hold bag including skis off as sporting equipment only. I would have thought it's down to definition. Hold bag contains luggage, sporting equipment contains skis and/or boots only. Maybe their website doesn't make this entirely clear but seems like common sense to me.
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mountainaddict, The web site says -
Quote:

Easyjet's website says: "Sporting Equipment - Payment of the additional fee increases your checked in hold baggage allowance (including additional item) to a max weight of 32kg

You didn't pay for a checked in bag thus you didn't have the 20kg allowance of that bag. Sorry but I think the wording is fairly clear.
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queen bodecia, I don't think he's trying to pass a hold bag as sporting equipment only; he paid for sporting equipment and has tried to pass that off as hold baggage which (from the OP), just happens to hold skis.
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Quote:

Maybe their website doesn't make this entirely clear

Standard policy of numerous airlines. EZY are not alone, and even the major flag carrier airlines are guilty. Almost seems to be business practice to be as misleading as possible to fool people into turning up with baggage in excess of what they thought had been paid for, knowing full well that people can't/won't just leave things behind.

Only way it will be fixed is when someone gets EU to pass a new directive or someone sues their asses off.
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 brian
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Frosty the Snowman, that would be fair enough if that was how they actually operate. However, the allowance and number of paid bags are treated separately, eg. if I have 3 pax on a booking and have paid for 2 hold bags, the 2 bags can weigh up to 60 kg combined.

Usually airlines state that ski equipment bags can only hold ski equipment (ie. no clothing etc) but I can't see that anywhere in easy's Ts&Cs, although they do state that for bike carriage.
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brian, really Puzzled Puzzled The T&Cs say £18 return for a 20kg bag
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holidayloverxx wrote:
mountainaddict, Have to agree with easyJets interpretation. It might well be a nonsensical rule, but IMHO the interpretation is correct.


I think so too.
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 brian
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Frosty the Snowman, yep.

An excerpt from my last easyjet booking ...

the Squeezymeisters wrote:

-----------------------------------------------------
Hold baggage and sports equipment
-----------------------------------------------------
2
Hold bag(s) per flight between all passengers combined

The 4 passenger(s) in this booking may check in a combined total of 2 hold bag(s) for each flight on this booking. The total hold weight must not exceed 64 kg.


Only reason it's 64kg and not 80kg is that no bag can exceed 32kg for H&S reasons.
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mountainaddict, Worded very badly as these things always are Sad
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
http://www.snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=61925&highlight=

some light bedtime reading
http://www.snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=31031&start=160
http://www.snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=58745&highlight=
http://www.snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=58982&start=40


rayscoops wrote:
halfhand, from the snowheads threads I posted above
nickH wrote:
question1: 01/12/2009 07.37 PM
I would like to take a bag containing skis & clothes with me. I have paid £18.50 for the sports bag carriage. As it is not clear from your FAQ section, could you please tell me how much weight I can have in the bag if I am not taking any other hold baggage. I assume that as £9 buys me 20 kg hold baggage that the £18.50 will buy me at least £20kg if not 32kg.

reply1:

02/12/2009 10.31 AM
Thank you for contacting us.
All passengers are entitled to 20 kilos of hold baggage weight allowance. In addition, a manual handling fee of £26.00 per flight (or £18.50 per flight if pre-booked online) is charged for Bikes, Skis, Golf Clubs, Windsurfers, Surfboards, Hang-gliders and Firearms, which allows a further 12 kilos. Only if your hold baggage and sports equipment combined weigh more than 32 kilos will you be charged excess baggage fees of £10.00 per additional kilo.
Yours sincerely
Frédéric Fourmont
Customer Experience Champion

question2: 02/12/2009 06.55 PM
Incident created due to reply to expired incident 091201-002474.
therefore if I have paid only for ski carriage ( £18.50) and have only a ski bag going into the hold, my ski bag can weigh up to 32kg ( 20kg hold allowance + 12kg extra for sports eqpt) - is that correct ? cheers

reply2:

03/12/2009 07.53 PM
Need to update your question?
Dear Mr H ,
Thank you for contacting us.
I am happy to confirm that you are absolutely right about the baggage allowance for your booking. I can confirm that you have an allowance of 32kg for your booking. Please note that you are not allowed to take more than 32kg in only one piece of baggage. I below detail a link that you may find useful. You will there see a link to a live chatroom where you can consult further details with one of our customer service agents.(link removed). Thank you very much for taking the time to contact us Mr H. Please do not hesitate to contact us one more time if you need any further assistance.
Yours sincerely,
Omar Carrieri
Customer Services Champion
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rayscoops, apart from the split infinitives, that seems completely clear and vindicates mountainaddict.

I still wouldn't fly with Sleazyjet or Urineair if you paid me though.
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Frosty the Snowman wrote:
You didn't pay for a checked in bag thus you didn't have the 20kg allowance of that bag. Sorry but I think the wording is fairly clear.


Baggage allowance comes with the flight, a charge is applied for each bag you check-in as part of the 20 kg allowance, check-in zero bags and the charge is multiplied by zero, check in 2 bags and the charge is multplied by two etc.

The 'additional fee' for the ski bag is 'additional' to the amount you pay for the flight. I have only once been pulled on this by check-in staff but the supervisor agreed with me.

Disclaimers apply wink
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Dr John, wink
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Just flown BA LHR - GVA Boot bag as hand luggage, with ski boots and helmet, ski bag with 2 pairs of skis as hold baggage, all for no extra charge, checked in as standard 23kg single bag allowance. Kitty checked in other hold bag with her boots and both our clothes. Still well within weight allowance. Free drinks and emergency exit seats.
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I have sometimes got away with technicalities on Easyjet but less so recently. There is no arguing with check-in staff (certainly not at LGW where they are 3rd party) and the easyjet supervisor I most recently spoke to wasn't interested in the actual T&Cs because she had a "am I bovvered" stock answer. It was easier to cough some extra cash. GVA, BSL and LYS staff have always been a delight by comparison.
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After a previous bad experience I recently took a roll of memory foam for my bad back, in case of a hard bed (I was glad I did). I paid for an extra item of luggage but I still only had a 20kg allowance. 2 bags doesn't give you 40kg.
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Quote:
Easyjet's website says: "Sporting Equipment - Payment of the additional fee increases your checked in hold baggage allowance (including additional item) to a max weight of 32kg."



So according to the Easyjet rules, if you'd got a tesco carrier bag with you and say a baseball cap, (nealty sidesteps helmet reference..) , weighing .05 of a Kg, and checked it in, then your allowance would increase to 32Kg, and all would be well?
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JimW, basically there is a loop hole in that there is an argument that even though you do not pay for hold baggage you are still have the allowance by virtue of paying for a flight, so if you did actually pay for one bag in the hold plus a ski bag you could put 32 kg in your ski bag and not even check in a hold bag if you did not want to.
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fatbob, Fair enough but I think you have to argue your case when they're obviously wrong. I was flying out of Gatwick on Boxing Day with one check in bag weighing 23kg and skis weighing 8kg. Check in guy said that my bag was 3kg over the limit and I'd need to pay an excess baggage charge but I calmly objected and quoted the T&Cs. He then called over a colleague and eventually changed his mind.

Spyderman, never been a great fan of BA but their baggage policy is very unambiguous and fair.
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Kelskii wrote:


Spyderman, never been a great fan of BA but their baggage policy is very unambiguous and fair.


I've flown 4 times with them recently from T5. I can't fault the service or price. Same cost as Easyjet pretty much by the time you've added bags, picked your seats and had a drink on the plane.

we took 8 minutes from walking in the front door of the terminal, to check-in, clear passport control and security and be in the departure lounge. Aircraft left on time both ways, baggage in hall pretty much as we arrived.

1 Hold Bag max 23kg, hand baggage any weight as long as you can lift it unaided into the overhead lockers, size is very generous too, plus laptop bag or girlie handbag as well.

If you want to take another bag it's charged as excess baggage, so another 23kg. if there's 2 travelling, I think carrying boots/helmet as hand luggage, 1 ski bag with 2 sets and 1 hold bag, is easily doable as 46kg is plenty for just skis and clothes.

People knock BA, but they can be just as cheap as the budget carriers and I find the whole experience to be much more pleasant.
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Kelskii, much though I quite like flying EJ, I suspect they pay less for the training of their own/or 3rd party gound staff than BA do...
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Spyderman, they were much better last year when they let you carry another 23kg ski bag for free.
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under a new name, yeah, agreed but if EJ's baggage T&Cs were clearer both the ground staff and the punters would find them easier to comprehend.
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Sideshow_Bob wrote:
Spyderman, they were much better last year when they let you carry another 23kg ski bag for free.

I know, it's made us re-think how much we take with us, but we were still well under. taking boots as hand luggage is the key.

Monarch managed to lose my hold bag with my boots in it in February. That was the end of the world for 3 days until I got it back. Much rather they never leave my sight. way to much time and pain gone into them to start again with a new pair before I need to.
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Spyderman wrote:
.....People knock BA, but they can be just as cheap as the budget carriers and I find the whole experience to be much more pleasant.


Provided they are flying from a suitable airport for you, and are not on strike.
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achilles,

Laughing Laughing Laughing
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rayscoops, Thank you, thank you, thank you for the definitive answer (below) direct from the horse's (or aeroplane's) mouth. That's just as I read the policy and I am indeed vindicated Very Happy. I neither want, nor need, to check in anything other than a ski bag (boots go as hand luggage) - and bike in the summer - so am absolutely delighted.

I do agree that the policy is open to 2 interpretations - but surely the one which assumes that a ghost bag weighing 20kg has used up part of your allowance would confirm that the lunatics have taken over the asylum. Half the weight for twice the cost? Madness.
Quote:

Q:Therefore if I have paid only for ski carriage ( £18.50) and have only a ski bag going into the hold, my ski bag can weigh up to 32kg ( 20kg hold allowance + 12kg extra for sports eqpt) - is that correct ? cheers
A: I am happy to confirm that you are absolutely right about the baggage allowance for your booking. I can confirm that you have an allowance of 32kg for your booking. Please note that you are not allowed to take more than 32kg in only one piece of baggage.

Yours sincerely,
Omar Carrieri
Customer Services Champion
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I have not checked if it is still specified on their website, but it used to be stated that an unused portion of the 20kg allowance could be put into the sports bag, but unused sports-bag allowance could not be put in the main case (it wasn't put as simply as this and in one place but it was there). On this basis, Kelskii, I would have thought their first reaction was right - but perhaps they have changed the wording.
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Spyderman, with you all the way mate. Assuming reasonable access to a BA or Swiss serviced airport, I haven't a clue why anyone would willingly choose one of the "budget" rip-off merchants,they are never anything but hassle. And as for strikes, 2 days in the last 20 years isn't a bad record, we're not French for heavens sake.
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mountainaddict, sorry if someone suggested this already - i only had time to skim read the above. Could you not have got away with paying only for 1 hold bag and no sports equipment? A pal of mine does that every time and always gets away with it. He just packs all his gear in his board bag and checks it in as his hold luggage. Are there any restrictions on what size your hold luggage is?
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Dr John, Easyjet are a fantastic airline. They are cheap, prompt AND they fly from airports other than LONDON. BA are a non starter for the majority of UK residents.
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Frosty the Snowman, The majority of the UK population is in the south east, so well served by London airports. I live in Luton, the historic home of Easyjet, they are a good airline, flown with them many times, but I'd rather drive to LHR and fly BA.

Anyway, do they have any airports oop north? I thought they were all buried in an ash cloud. wink
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Never had a problem with EJ, in fact some of the stuff they do better then other airlines, my ski bag weighs around 27kg on top of hold bag that usually around 19kg..we just buy 2 sport equipment add ons..still under 150 quid all in for 2 and no hassle..though if we lived nearer london probably fly swiss as I like the seats.
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Spyderman wrote:
Frosty the Snowman, The majority of the UK population is in the south east....


Not so, according to the 2001 census.

2001 census figures:

London: 7,172,036
South East: 8,000,550

UK population: 58,789,194


Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Thu 6-05-10 10:23; edited 1 time in total
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Frosty the Snowman, Good for you mate, stick with what works for you, I'm just saying that in my (and many many others) experiece they haven't been quite so brilliant.

And I don't want to turn this into an airline fanboi p1ssing contest, but seeing as BA fly from Heathrow, Gatwick, City, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle and Aberdeen I would suggest your assertion that they are a "non-starter for the majority of UK" is, shall we say, a little hysterical.
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Easyjet are great, only ever flown with my board bag (no other check-in luggage) for the last 3 years and 10 - 15 flights in total (and then it is about 17 kg) and only once had a bit of hassle regarding excess baggage - moral high ground is easily taken when my board bag is under 20kg wink
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Its not the airlines thats the issue nowadays its the whole airport experience and the other passengers...learjets the way forward..so is winning the lottery
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achilles, London has more people than Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds & Birmingham put together.

Maybe I should re-phase my statement to say most heavily populated.
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